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Reminder Assistant Editor AGAWAM Not all jobs are nine to five. Punching out at five o'clock and leaving their work at work is not a luxury had by the women teaching three students with autism at Agawam Middle School. For them, their job is a career, to be taken home and lived 24/7 as they try to discover new ways to communicate with three students with autism a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old. Jess Lambert, co-teacher of the autism classroom, and Elisa Lavelle and Karen Adams, one-to-one verbal behavioral specialists, work intensively with Michael, Lisa and Jessie Lambert requested that the students' true identities not be revealed to increase their communication with the world and teach them the day-to-day life skills they need to survive. Last week, Lambert, Lavelle and Adams invited Reminder Publications into their newly refurbished classroom to speak about their work and their students' progress, while Michael, Lisa and Jessie tried to sit and watch their Friday movie. Michael is 12-years-old and has been attending Agawam Middle School for two years. Lavelle explained that when she began working with him last year he could only utter two sounds; today, he can say 12 different sounds to indicate his wants and needs. He can also communicate 10 different words through speech, sign language and writing and he has also learned over 100 signs. Lavelle noted Michael's significant progress over the past year as he used to hit others when he did not prefer an activity because he knew no other way to communicate now he is able to use his words and sign language. "It boggles me. I wake up and always want to come in [to work]," Lavelle said. "He so much wants to speak so if I have the ability to get him to talk with his family or friends.people don't understand how intense this [work] is," she tried to add as tears began to stream uncontrollably down her flushed face. Lavelle explained that she and the other teachers in the autism classroom adhere to specific programs for each of the students based upon their own abilities, needs and goals. They create the students' learning programs in conjunction with the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS), a form of skill assessment which tracks the strengths and weaknesses of students with developmental disabilities in 25 categories such as grooming, toileting, social interaction, group instruction, syntax and grammar, labeling, fine motor skills and vocal imitation. In addition to the ABLLS curriculum, each student participates in a variety of therapies such as physical, speech and occupational therapies as well as adaptive physical education and work with other students in an inclusion classroom. "[ABLLS] provides a curriculum for these students," Lavelle said. She explained that each day of the week she works with Michael to master a set of tasks, letters, sounds or words. He is tested on his retention to ensure that he has mastered it. Lavelle said if he says, signs or writes a word five times, he's mastered it. Last Friday, they worked to master letters and sounds in Michael's private room. His is one of three rooms in the renovated classroom that became their new learning space last April. The refurbished classroom is separated into a living area, a bathroom and three private rooms, one for each student. Michael's room is filled with photos of family members and cheerful reminders of his likes and interests. Lavelle used index cards to test Michael on his retention of certain letters in the alphabet and their sounds. She explained that in order to get Michael to focus she uses a rewards system a swing is conveniently located inside the classroom, which allows the three students to have leisure and reward time throughout the day. Lavelle explained that each student's progress within their own ABLLS programs are carefully monitored through a data entry process in order to track and graph their progress. She said she is always pleased to share the data with Michael's family in order to ensure that he is making progress, even on a difficult day. "You never can be fully prepared [for this job]," Lavelle said. "I could not ask for a better team. We use a lot of humor in this room. You have to." Lambert added, "The pay is not substantial. It's not equal to what we do." As Lambert began to elaborate on her point, Jessie had an accident in her cushioned chair. While Adams tried unsuccessfully to settle Jessie's hysterical behavior before taking her to the bathroom to be cleaned and changed, Lambert was forced to excuse herself to help. "She has the patience of a saint," Lavelle said of Adams, whose had a career in special education for 21 years. Later, Lambert explained that because Jessie is non-verbal she has a very difficult time communicating what she needs or wants, such as going to the bathroom. When Jessie returned to the living area she sat on a plastic mat, separating her from the cushioned chair. She is 12-years-old and has been attending the middle school for two years. Prior to the movie, Adams tried to engage and settle Jessie by singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Patty Cake." However, Adams had only moderate success in trying to get her to focus on the song and its hand gestures. Lambert explained that she and Adams are working to teach Jessie "basic communication skills." Lambert said that unlike Michael, who is able to partially express himself, Jessie has additional medical problems that inhibit her from communicating with the outside world. "She has the drive to succeed but it's got to be frustrating for her," Lambert said of her inability to tell them what she needs, wants or is able to learn in class. She noted Jessie's difficulty learning the sign language for activities. Lisa is 14-years-old and will be graduating to Agawam High School next year. She is the reason the school district will be constructing an $80,000 autism classroom at the high school. The room is included in Mayor Susan Dawson's five-year Capital Improvement Program because of the costs-benefit of keeping students with autism in the district it would cost $125,000 annually to send students out of district. Lambert explained that Lisa is also non-verbal and has epilepsy, which "plays a major role in her learning." She said over the past three years Lisa has learned 20 to 30 signs to communicate her wants and needs. Lambert explained that next year when moving to the high school, Lisa will make the transition into learning a greater number of life skills through daily activities. Lambert is scheduled to be the teacher of the autism classroom at Agawam High School. Lambert said she helped to design the classroom, which will include a living area, kitchen and laundry area so that Lisa and other students with autism can learn to cook, clean, do laundry, wash dishes and other daily living skills. "[The new high school room] is vital in trying to encourage their independence," Lambert explained. "A lot of times they can't even brush their teeth. We teach kids so parents get a break and they want to learn. It's vital for their independence [to teach them life skills] to hopefully prevent them from going into [assisted living facilities]." Lambert noted the importance of keeping students with autism in the district in order to provide the students with consistency in their education and faculty. "You have to be driven to be here. You have to be a special kind of person," Lambert said of the staff. She added that she is excited to begin the autism program at the high school and hopes it will provide Lisa, Michael and Jessie with the education, communication and life skills they'll need to live in today's fast paced world prior to their graduation at the age of 22. | ||||||
